Lesser songwriters might stop there, and accept lyrical maturation as the only necessary step toward a sophomore effort, but Crutchfield also uses Cerulean Salt as a way to expand her sonic palette beyond the crackling acoustic guitar ballads that marked her previous work.

It’s that blazingly honest, hyper-personal quality that places Cerulean Salt in the tradition of Elliott Smith, early Cat Power, or Liz Phair's free-flowing Girlysound tapes--the work of a songwriter skilled enough to make introspection seem not self-centered, but generous.

Cerulean Salt's added electricity, rhythm section, variety and production clarity still retains the intimacy, the skeletal arrangements and the plaintive urgency in here delivery, from a yelp to a croon. [Aug 2013, p.93]

These are sad songs, sure; desperately sad, sometimes. But while the connections they depict may be long-severed, that they once existed at all is enough to grace this assured, affecting collection some hope, and an unlikely warmth that seeps in around its blunt, hard edges.

The stories of grim wedding scenes, hospital visits, and the various disappointments of daily life are all harrowing and intense, but Crutchfield's deft arrangement of lyrical details and their slow-release impact keeps the darkness from ever coming off as self-indulgent.

These songs, short and sparsely arranged, are more fragile. Crutchfield’s hardly beautiful, unadorned singing helps this idea along, and the ways she uses her voice introduce a complicating factor: confidence.

The effervescent punk-pop of The Breeders is a touchstone, as is Kimya Dawson's ramshakle honesty, but "Lips And Limbs" affects a subtle country twang, while on the terrific "Blue Pt. II," skeletal acoustic acoustics and frank lyrics document a stagnating love affair. [Aug 2013, p.79]

At her best, Crutchfield has a way with concrete imagery that adds a sense of realism to her tales of woe and heartbreak, adding depth and poignance to them, while keeping them from becoming overbearingly personal.

How anybody could not like this band amazes me. She is without a doubt the best songwriter in music today. I could go on and on about howHow anybody could not like this band amazes me. She is without a doubt the best songwriter in music today. I could go on and on about how great this album is but i suggest you listen to it and see for yourself.…Full Review »

As an avid fan of what my girlfriend calls “sissy-boy emo,” lyrics rip my heart out on a fairly regular basis. Throw on something twinkly likeAs an avid fan of what my girlfriend calls “sissy-boy emo,” lyrics rip my heart out on a fairly regular basis. Throw on something twinkly like Grown Ups’ “Three Day Weekend” or Mineral’s “Palisade” and I’m liable to melt into an emotional puddle at a moment’s notice.

That may be why it was so surprising when Waxahatchee’s sophomore LP hit me like a ton of bricks this year. Singer and guitarist Katie Crutchfield wrote thirteen tracks without impossible time signatures, obscure tunings, or guitar lines you’d need an advanced engineering degree to deconstruct. Without utilizing any emo cliches, Cerulean Salt made me feel more than any song Chris Carrabba has written in his entire preppy life.

I first came across Waxahatchee on last year’s debut, American Weekend. I was instantly smitten by the emotionally raw lyrics and Crutchfield’s heart-wrenching vocal performances on songs like “Grass Stain” and “Michel.” Unfortunately, the rough quality that made these tracks so intimate, grew a bit grating as the album wore on and deterred me from delving deeper into it.

While the lo-fi minimalism of her debut is gone, the polished quality of Cerulean Salt makes Katie’s songwriting shine brighter than ever. The addition of Swearin’s Kyle Gilbride and Keith Spencer on bass and drums brings new life to Waxahatchee’s folk-tinged punk that Crutchfield couldn’t as a solo act.

Many of Waxahatchee’s lyrics deal with messy relationships (romantic or otherwise) and the band’s earnest songwriting ensures the lyrics hit home. Gilbride and Spencer do more than add a backing track to the heartbreaking lyrics. The band know how to make the emotions of Crutchfield’s lyrics wash over every aspect of a song.

Crutchfield uses incredible detail when describing a close friend’s struggle with drug addiction over the quiet-loud progression of “Lively.” The delicate drum rolls that underscore her lilting vocals on “Swan Dive” propel the song’s forlorn lyrics from sad to “oh my god I’m going to start crying on the subway” territory. While the sunny guitar trills of “Coast To Coast” counter the end of the album’s melancholy vibe and make the song the perfect track to score a summer road trip.

I still get chills every time I hear Katie croon “In this dejection/lives a connection/tied to your vain silence and all my resistance” on album closer “You’re Damaged.” The connection that she sings about is why Cerulean Salt tore me, and many other listeners, to shreds in a way that no other album could this year.…Full Review »

Katie Crutchfield presents us with Waxahatchee’s second album Cerluean Salt. The album is low-fi, acoustic and vocal heavy. It’s the albumKatie Crutchfield presents us with Waxahatchee’s second album Cerluean Salt. The album is low-fi, acoustic and vocal heavy. It’s the album that I wouldn’t usually listen to, but she has me coming back to it because I’m intrigued with her blend of fuzzy sweet sadness. The album has that sad feeling of failure woven into it’s sound, it’s wonderful vocal heavy sound where Katie’s vocals can really shine, and they add to the low-fi 90′s feel that the album carries from beginning to end. But it’s this sound that proves to be difficult at points. Sometimes it can be too much, it can become too familiar and it wears a little thin on tracks like “Lips and Limbs” which I feel that the track doesn’t really get my attention, and that’s always been my problem with this type of music. It’s underlying problem, for me, is that I’ve heard it all way too much before.

However, the album really glows, it does so in a timid and vulnerable way, but it is great in places, such as “Blue Pt. II” which is so bare and stripped back instrumentally, and with the minimal soft vocal production, it becomes something beautiful. “Brother Bryan” is another strong song on the album, again, it is minimal with just a bass and bare elements of a drum kit. In contrast to these songs you have “Coast to Coast” which has a fuller sound, a sound that the album needs and welcomes.

“Misery over Dispute” carries a really fuzzy guitar tone and “Swan Dive” carries a really indie and jangly guitar tone, but the changes between sounds, seem to fit.

Overall, the album can be pleasant in it’s woe, but it’s issue is that it can become burdened by the softer sounds over the thirteen tracks. It still makes for an enjoyable listen, it can just be one that can become slightly stale in the odd place.…Full Review »